Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act Information
The Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act and General Regulations is coming into force on April 1, 2025.
A preview of the Act that will be in force on April 1st, 2025 is available here: Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act
During Phase 1 the province will be bringing the parts of the Act into force, including new rights and protections for workers. During this phase, the province will launch the new licence requirement for recruiters who are involved in recruiting foreign nationals for employment in Prince Edward Island. During Phase 2, the province will launch the employer registry and administrative penalties sections of the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act.
Rights for foreign workers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act
Effective April 1, 2025, the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act will prohibit recruiters and from charging fees and expenses for recruitment services to foreign workers.
Under the Act:
- Recruiters and employers cannot provide false or misleading information related to recruitment services, immigration, immigration services, employment, or housing
- Recruiters and employers cannot provide false or misleading information about the laws of Prince Edward Island or Canada
- Recruiters and employers cannot take possession of or retain a foreign worker’s passport or other official documents
- Employers are permitted to take passport or documents temporarily for the purposes of copying or recording the information, but must return it to a worker right away
- Recruiters and employers cannot misrepresent employment opportunities, including details of the position, duties, length of employment, wages and benefits, or other terms of employment
- Recruiters and employers cannot threaten deportation or threaten any other action for which there is no lawful cause
Recruiters that help employers in Prince Edward Island find foreign workers must be licensed
Individual recruiters who are involved with recruiting foreign nationals for employment in Prince Edward Island must be licensed in Prince Edward Island, even if they are licensed in another province or if their business or main operations are located outside of the province.
Applications for a foreign worker recruiter licence will open on April 1, 2025
Getting licensed
No matter where they are, individuals must have a licence if they help foreign workers find jobs in Prince Edward Island. Recruiters are individually licensed, which means that each recruiter at a business must have a licence. Individuals who operate without a licence could be fined up to $5,000.
People who offer recruitment services to foreign nationals must be licensed.
Recruitment services include:
• Trying to find employment for a foreign national in Prince Edward Island
• Helping an employer hire a foreign national
• Helping someone else to find employment for a foreign national
• Referring a foreign national to another person who finds employment for them
To qualify for a recruiter license, an individual must be a member of a law society, the Chambre des notaries du Quebec, or a registered immigration consultant.
Who does not need to apply?
You do not need to apply for a licence to
• Recruit for your employer or for a job in your own business
• Recruit a family member
• Act on behalf of a government, including federal, provincial, a first nation, or a municipality
• Act on behalf of the University of Prince Edward Island, Holland College or College de I’Ile
A foreign worker recruiter licence is valid for up to 3 years. New applicants usually receive a 1-year licence. You need to renew your licence before it expires. The expiry date will be printed on the licence.
Paying the financial security
Each licence requires a financial security instrument in the amount of $10,000. If you do not follow the rules for recruiters, this security may be used to
• Reimburse foreign workers for fees and costs incurred due to contraventions of the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act
• Cover fines imposed for contravening the Act
The security can be paid by
• Certified cheque or bank draft addressed to the Minister of Finance
Following the rules for recruiters
Licensed recruiters must uphold their obligations required by law and make sure that the partners, affiliates and agents they work with do the same.
If not, recruiters could
• Be fined
• Lose their licence
• Have restrictions placed on their licence
Recruiters need to clearly communicate to foreign workers what their rights are under the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act. You can do so by posting and sharing information about the information sheet on Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act:
Information Sheet coming soon
Prohibited activities by recruiters
Recruiters cannot:
• Directly or indirectly charge any person other than an employer a fee or expense for recruitment services
• Take and keep a foreign worker’s passport or official documents
• Produce or distribute false or misleading information related to a recruitment service, immigration, immigration services, employment, housing for the foreign worker, or misrepresent the laws of Prince Edward Island or Canada
• Misrepresent employment opportunities, including a position, duties, length of employment, wages, benefits, or other terms of employment
Recruiters must:
Recruiters must have a written contract with each employer and foreign worker. If you provide services to both a foreign worker and that worker's employer, you need contracts with both.
Records must be kept in Prince Edward Island for at least 4 years. They must be made available for inspection upon request.
Recruiters must keep all records related to recruiting temporary foreign workers:
• Signed contracts
• The name and address of each worker
• A description of recruitment services provided to each worker
• The name of each employer a foreign worker was referred to and/or placed with
• Fees and expenses requested or received
Information Disclosure
Recruiters and the people they work with need to disclose information about the services they provide to foreign workers and employers they work with.
You must inform foreign workers in writing if you will receive a fee or compensation for referring the worker to someone else.
If you're providing recruitment services to an employer and immigration services to a foreign worker who will be employed by that employer, you need to:
• Inform both of them about the services you're providing to both parties
• Get written consent from each of them to provide those services
If you work with any partners, affiliates or agents during the recruitment process, you need to ensure that they uphold their obligations required by law.
You also need to provide the names and addresses of all partners, affiliates or agents when you apply for your licence.
Email TFWP@gov.pe.ca (link sends e-mail) to update changes to any of your contact information, even after your licence expires.
You also need to update Employment Standards Branch any time information changes about any of your partners, affiliates or agents, including if
• Their name or address changes
• Your relationship with them changes
• You start working with a new partner, affiliate or agent